The Forest Sisters
by Lady-of-Imagination
Summary: This is a modern revised version of Sense and Sensibility. It should be pretty cool!
1. Chapter 1

The Forest Sisters

**This is a modern-revised version of Sense and Sensibility. I do not own the storyline. The characters are mine. **

_Characters:_

_Forest Family_

_Andrew Forest m. Dianne (died) _

_- Sean Forest (30) m. Ashley Taylor _

_Andrew Forest / m. Louise_

_-Elise (21)_

_-Summer (19)_

_- Violet and Rose (15)_

_-Amorelle (12)_

_Taylor Family_

_Mr. and Mrs. Taylor (died)_

_Eric Taylor (27) - Ashley Taylor (26) – John Taylor (24)_

It was a dark and dreary night. The Forest Lodge was still and quiet. They were all waiting on edge. Waiting for something to happen, waiting for their waiting to end. Mr. Foster's cancer had taken a final deathly turn a day before.

Mrs. Forest sat in the living room, humming a sad song and absent-mindedly stoking 12-year-old Rosie's hair. The twins, who were 15, Amy and Violet, sat next to each other on one of the couches. Their eyes were large and faces pale.

Upstairs, the house-doctor sat by Mr. Forest, closely monitoring his condition, a grave look etched in his face.

The door to the large lodge was softly clicked shut behind Sean Forest. Sean was Mr. Forest's child by his fist marriage. He was the head manager of a software company in Texas, at 32. He treaded quietly up the wooden steps to his father's spacious bedroom.

The doctor immediately left to give them privacy.

"Dad?" Sean pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. His father looked so weak.

"Sean. I love you." He gripped his son's hand. "Do one thing for me…take…care of my girls." He managed in a whisper and painfully let out his last breath.

Downstairs the door opened again as Elise and Summer entered. They had rushed home from Messiah University in Colorado as soon as their mother had contacted them.

"Mom." Elise ran to hug her mother. Summer entered a few minutes later, trying to compose herself. Tears still slid down her cheeks. She clung to her mother.

They all looked up abruptly at Sean's nearing foot-steps. He forced his chin upwards, but could not look into the eyes of his step-family.

"Heaven…is now rejoicing with Dad." His voice was barely audible, but they all heard.

"Andrew! My dear darling Andrew!" Mrs. Foster wailed, her hands flying to her white cheeks. She ran up to her husband's body, sobbing.

The sisters all hugged each other, sobbing to themselves downstairs. Sean slipped out of the house, feeling out of place.

The Funeral was held at their Bible Church in Montana that Saturday. Mrs. Forest cried silently the whole service, being only civil to her guests. Elise tried to offer extra graciousness where her mother lacked in it. Summer didn't say a single word, nodding when absolutely necessary. She hadn't spoken since the death. The younger girls were all well behaved, but restless when it let out.

"I guess this is your house now, Sean." Mrs. Forest commented to Sean as they ate a cold dinner that evening. The lawyer had read Mr. Forest's will, and the entire ranch had been left to Sean, as Andrew had promised his first wife.

"Yes, Ashley has arranged for a truck to bring our things tomorrow. You are welcome to stay as long as you need, of course. Things will be difficult for you, I'm sure." Sean told her. Mrs. Forest nodded and rushed to get her tissues.

"Don't slam the door, please Summer!" Elise gently reprimanded her 19-year-old sister.

Summer flopped across her bed. The white sheer bed-tent billowed around the queen-sized bed, hanging from a plastic circle hooked to the ceiling above. The walls were deep blue and covered in Star Wars and Lord of the Rings posters, alongside autographed pictures of her favorite actors. Her desk sat in the corner with sketchings and scripts scattered across it among her laptop. A bookshelf full of romances stood opposite the desk, her guitar hanging above it. Her bed-set was midnight blue and sheets creamy white.

She cried their for two hours, hugging her pillow and crying to God.

Elise sat on her arm-chair in her own bedroom, remembering how her father had helped her decorate. Her walls were beige and her furniture Mahogany. Her desk was full of neatly-stacked notebooks full of stories she had written. Her floor-to-ceiling bookshelf held some of her college books along with many classics.

She silently prayed that God would help their family as tears dripped slowly from her eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you ,Chili for pointing out those things. I revised Chapter One, so hopefully the character list is a little easier to understand now. Elise is Sean's step-sister. Sean is married to Amy. **

Chapter Two

The next day several trucks came from Texas.

"Just throw all of their ugly furniture out, darling." Ashley sweetly urged her husband. She examined her well-manicured nails.

"Dear, we need to be kind to them, they _are_ my family after all."

"Put it in the barn then." She said in an offended manner with a wave of her hand.

"Good idea." He agreed.

"Can you _believe_ her?" Summer burst into her sister's room. "Walking around on her ditzy little high heels, ordering all of our furniture, except our bedrooms, out with her fifty-dollar pointed finger nails. I hope she breaks them. She wasn't meant for a place like this. Our lodge is no longer a classic rustic, but wood clashes with modern!"

"This is her house now, Summer." Elise reminded her.

"She had no business – no right." Summer stormed off.

"When Elise entered her mother's bedroom, which Summer was sure that Ashley was itching to get her hands on, Mrs. Forest was sitting at the table, with newspapers spread out.

"I need to find a job." She sniffled. Elise sat down with a sigh.

"What kind of a job do you want?" she asked, picking up a paper. "And where?"

"I – I used to have very good typing skills before I married." Mrs. Forest told her.

"So maybe an editor or a secretary." Elise suggested.

"Yes. And I think that it might be good to eave. Maybe for lower Wyoming." She blew into a new tissue.

"I'll go do some research online, then." Elise commented, and left to do that.

Lunch was made by a cook that Ashley had already hired.

"How many guest bedrooms do you have again?" Ashley asked, gingerly cutting up her chicken.

"Four." Elise answered.

"Hmm…I wonder, would you mind leaving your bedroom for a few days, Amorelle? My brother is coming from Massachusetts. He has spring break from law-school. Your bedroom has a pretty view of your lake that Eric would enjoy.

Summer stared rudely at Ashley in astonishment, then turned away.

"When are you expecting him?" Mrs. Forest asked as politely as possible.

"Tomorrow." Ashley smiled. "He's at the top of all of his classes at Harvard."

"You must be so proud." Mrs. Forest remarked.

"Summer, you haven't touched your food." Elise gently pushed her sister, concern showing on her face.

Summer pushed her chair back and left the dining room, muttering an 'excuse me'.

When Elise passed Summer's room later, rock music was blasting. This time, Elise hadn't the heart to stop her. She shook her head as she continued on toward her mother's room.

"Here is a list of jobs in Wyoming." Elise sat down with her mother. "Editor wanted for Rock Springs Ledger…" she went on with the details.

"Too many hours." Her mother shook her head.

They sat for an hour, pouring over the options, but none were found acceptable.

"I'll keep looking." Elise promised.


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm glad you like it, Lynn and Anti-botox! Yes, Elise and Eric are Edward and Eleanor. **

Chapter Three

_Rap, rap, rap. _The maid that Ashley had hired rushed to answer the caller.

"Yes?" she asked. The man was tall and had a very well-kept manner to him. His dark brown hair was neatly trimmed and combed. His face was smoothly shaved. He wore jeans and a wrinkleless blue dress shirt.

"I'm Eric Taylor. I've come to visit Sean and Ashley."

"Right this way, Mr. Taylor."

He followed the maid down the long hallway, two suitcases in hand.

"Mr. Eric Taylor to see you." The maid introduced and left. All of the adults had been in the living room, each doing their own thing.

Mrs. Forest and Ashley rose from their seats simultaneously.

"We're glad you could come." Ashley greeted him just as Mrs. Forest said, "Welcome to the Lodge." They looked at each other. Mrs. Forest flushed.

"How was your flight?" Ashley asked, having an added air to her manner.

"Tiring." Eric's voice was very soft and deep, almost faltering. It surprised Summer, who was sure that all lawyers were very self-confident.

"Of course, make yourself at home." She gracefully sank into a chair, and he lowered himself to the edge of a loveseat.

"Eric, this is the widow Forest, her oldest daughter Elise, and Summer. The others are off running around." Ashley said with a cold smile.

"Pleasure to meet you." His smile held all of the warmth that his sister had not used. Summer also noticed how nice his smile was, and how the corner's of his liquid-brown eyes crinkled as he smiled.

"I'm sorry that my three youngest are being so…rude. They are fairly shy and still shaken by their father's death." Mrs. Forest apologized gracefully.

"Don't worry at all. I – I am slightly shy of strangers myself." He smiled again.

Mrs. Forest picked up her cross-stitching and began to poke the needle in and out again. Summer turned back to her book. Elise offered Eric a smile for his kindness before turning back to the laptop where she was searching for a house and job.

"She's gone!" Summer rushed into Elise's room in a frantic uproar.

"Calm down. _Who _is gone?" Elise asked evenly, rising from her desk.

"Rosie! No one can find her! Stupid Ashley had to go inviting a stranger and it scared her off."

"Oh no." Elise's face went pale and she quietly slipped on her sandals.

"We've searched everywhere!" Summer cried in a still panicked voice as she rushed after Elise.

"Would you calm down please, Summer?" Elise turned to hush her sister. "Getting yourself in a panic is not going to help anything."

"I suppose I'm the only one who cares about _anything_ around here." Summer stormed away with her hands folded across her chest.

By that night they still had not been able to find Rosie. Mrs. Forest, Elise, Summer and the twins sat in the office. A worried look was concreted on her face. She did not like the idea of waiting until her youngest decided to return.

Elise was just as worried, but kept herself productive by continuing her ceaseless job of looking for a future place for her family.

They all looked up as the door to the office opened.

"Sorry to intrude." Eric looked embarrassed. "I – I think that I have found her." Mrs. Forest gasped and Elise stood and followed him.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"I was on my way to my room and I heard un-natural noise in the ceiling. I believe that she somehow climbed into the attic's trap-door without leaving anything underneath it. Brilliant." Eric smiled at Elise.

"But your bedroom is down the other hall." Elise's voice reflected her confusion.

"No, no. The maid – Molly? She led me to one of your family rooms and I quickly had the situation fixed." Elise didn't know how to reply. It seemed almost impossible that this man had the same bloodlines as Ashley.

"Right here." Eric whispered. Sure enough, when Elise looked up there was a trapdoor.

"Have you ever heard about attics in Montana?" Eric asked loudly.

"No, tell me." Elise raised her eyebrows along with her voice.

"The Montanan Mice like to build _huge _nests up there, almost everywhere possible."

"Really? That's disgusting." Elise smiled at his dramatization.

"But what's really bad is their reaction to people." Eric continued.

"People?" Elise was beginning to wonder if her sister could even hear them.

"Yes. If a person sits on an object which they have built their nest in, they will wait until the person is really scared and _BOOM!" _Elise jumped. "They come out and chase him with their sharp teeth." Elise had to hold back laughter.

They stood quietly and immediately heard footsteps hurrying across the above floorboards. The hatch opened and down jumped Rosie.

Eric made it seem perfectly normal that someone had just jumped from the ceiling.

"Mice problems?" he asked naturally.

"Of course not. I always have my light-saber on hand." Rosie answered smartly.

"Ah, of course. I'm Eric Taylor." He shook hands with the girl.

"Rosie Forest. I must be off now, but may the force be with you."

"And you." He smiled.


End file.
